A full slate of Week 9 games comes your way Saturday, including five all-ranked matchups that include the bitter rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen.
If you’re looking to wager on the action, check out our best college football player props available today, starting with the 3:30 p.m. slate of games.
Saturday College Football Player Props
Ryan Williams Anytime Touchdown (-115)
The Alabama Crimson Tide offense has struggled against two strong defenses in the last two weeks. Here’s to thinking Kalen DeBoer’s team gets back on track by making it a point to get the ball to their best playmaker.
It doesn’t hurt that the Missouri Tigers’ defense has been susceptible to deep balls, and Ryan Williams is a true deep threat. I often look for an offense’s “easy button” when looking for props, and for Alabama, that’s Williams.
Jake Retzlaff Over 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (+110)
I might fall for this, but I think Vegas is wrong on this game. The oddsmakers are higher on the UCF Knights than most bettors have been this season. I love the plus-money odds for Jake Retzlaff to throw for multiple touchdowns against an objectively terrible pass defense.
The BYU Cougars pass offense has gotten better as the year as gone on, even if the last game didn’t quite show that. Historically, the Cougars don’t play well in Florida, but I fully expect this team will overcome that trend on Saturday. They’ll do that with a lot of movement through the air.
Sawyer Robertson Under 271.5 Passing Yards
Sawyer Robertson has been a revelation to a struggling Baylor Bears offense, but he’s not going to have to do much through the air against an awful Oklahoma State Cowboys rushing defense, at least not 272 yards worth.
I expect the Bears to keep the ball on the ground more and away from Oklahoma State’s newly improved offensive attack. Even if the Bears score a lot, which they might, I don’t expect Robertson to reach this number.
Cade McNamara Under 147.5 Passing Yards
I’ll always be a fan of an under on an Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback and, honestly, I’m not sure how the sportsbooks arrived at this high of a number. Cade McNamara hasn’t been great this season and faces a Northwestern Wildcats defense much better than the team’s record suggests.
This is going to be one of those ugly, grind-it-out Big Ten games with plenty of short gains. It could flip on a turnover but don’t expect Iowa’s passer to find success through the air.
Jordan James Over 99.5 Rushing Yards (-103)
Jordan James’ rushing totals tend to contradict what you might think. He tends to get more touches in close games than in blowouts, and he’s gone over 100 yards in all but one game that finished within 21 points, while he’s gone well under the number in every blowout win.
On Saturday, he faces an Illinois Fighting Illini team that plans to muck up the game and take away Dillon Gabriel’s easy completions. To counter this, Dan Lanning and the company should be patient with the run, and James should go over his yardage total.
Billy Edwards Jr. Under 251.5 Passing Yards
This is a pretty low number for a guy averaging over 300 passing yards a game. The Minnesota Golden Gophers’ passing defense isn’t terrible, but its numbers are also skewed by playing a few teams that cannot complete a forward pass.
The Maryland Terrapins likes to air it out a lot, and Billy Edwards Jr. has crossed this number in his last four starts. I think he can get there with relative ease on Saturday.
Tahj Brooks Over 126.5 Rushing Yards
I cannot overstate how poor the TCU Horned Frogs’ rushing defense is. Tahj Brooks has been a monster since returning to full health, dominating far better rushing defenses than that of the Horned Frogs.
He’s hit 125 yards in his last three starts. Given the fact that TCU’s offense isn’t terrible and the relatively close spread, I think the Texas Tech Red Raiders will be consistent in the running game, and Brooks will rack up yards for four quarters.
Hank Bachmeier Over 242.5 Passing Yards
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons travel across the country to play at the Stanford Cardinal. The former Pac-12 outfit has struggled in these home ACC games, especially defensively, and I think Hank Bachmeier benefits from this.
Facing his brother, I think Bachmeier has a very productive game. Stanford has given up passing yards in chunks and should be able to hit this number without throwing the ball an exorbitant amount of times.
Fernando Mendoza Over 239.5 Passing Yards
Another quarterback yardage over, Fernando Mendoza has hit this number in his last four starts. The California Golden Bears have struggled recently, and despite being favorites, I don’t foresee this being a blowout.
Even if they get up a few scores, expect Mendoza to continue throwing the ball after California got conservative a few weeks ago and blew a huge lead to the Miami Hurricanes.
Sedrick Alexander Over 34.5 Rushing Yards
I think this line is a bit of an overreaction to the Vanderbilt Commodores playing a strong defense on Saturday. Sedrick Alexander has gone over 40 yards in every game this season, and Vanderbilt will want to stay out of third-and-long situations against a strong Texas Longhorns pass rush.
The Georgia Bulldogs showed last week that there’s some running room up the middle against this defensive front. I expect Alexander to get at least 10 carries, meaning 3.5 yards a pop will take him over. I really like this prop, even with the Commodores as heavy underdogs.
Other books have this total as high as 40.5, so take advantage of the low number on DraftKings.
Jovantae Barnes Under 52.5 Rushing Yards
The Oklahoma Sooners offense is a mess and things won’t get any easier as they face an elite Ole Miss Rebels defense. Barnes found a little room late against a South Carolina Gamecocks defense that is much less adept against the run than the pass.
This Ole Miss defense is the opposite. The Rebels defense is one of the best rushing defenses in the entire country and I have my doubts that Barnes will be able to find any room on the ground this Saturday.
Malachi Fields Over 82.5 Receiving Yards
I’m as low on the North Carolina Tar Heels as anyone can be as I think the team is done for the year. Malachi Fields has found plenty of room against poor secondaries and the Tar Heels are one of the worst in the ACC, especially against the deep ball.
Expect Fields to eat up a huge chunk of this number on one or two catches and go over with a few other catches throughout the game. The Virginia Cavaliers will want to feed their top playmaker.
Jaylin Lane Anytime Touchdown
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets’ rushing defense is fairly stout, which could lead to the Virginia Tech Hokies throwing the ball a bit more than normal, especially near the end zone. Jaylin Lane is the gadget guy and explosive out of the slot and the backfield.
MORE: Simulate the College Football Season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
I like Lane to score, especially at plus odds. To be honest, I don’t hate other receiver props for the Hokies, either.
TreVeyon Henderson Under 64.5 Rushing Yards
Fellow running back Quinshon Judkins looks healthy, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ rushing defense is stout. I think TreVeyon Henderson will have to work harder for his yardage, and he won’t get it in chunks.
Expect the Ohio State Buckeyes to face more short fields, and I think this could be a blowout win in which the yardage totals don’t look especially crazy.
Blake Horvath Anytime Touchdown (+100)
I’m not quite sure how well the Navy Midshipmen will fare against a strong Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense, but when things get tough for the Midshipmen, things flow through quarterback Blake Horvath.
His yardage total is set at over 70 yards, so if he gets even close to that, I’d have to expect him to also score a touchdown. I don’t have a feel for whether that’s early as part of a tight game or a late, meaningless touchdown, but I feel fairly strongly that he will score.
Tayven Jackson Over 218.5 Passing Yards
I’m a huge fan of Kurtis Rourke and what he’s done this year, but I also saw him struggle for the Ohio Bobcats last season while Tayven Jackson flashed in a horrible Indiana offense. So, I don’t expect there to be an enormous dropoff between Rourke and Jackson, especially when the latter has had an entire week of practice with the first-team.
FREE: Sign up for the College Football Network Newsletter to receive unique stories from the world of college football directly to your inbox!
Jackson looked comfortable against a strong Nebraska defense last week, averaging over 11 yards per attempt. Even if that drops by three yards a pass, Jackson needs just over 25 attempts to reach his number. Given that I don’t expect the game script to change much with him behind center, I think that’s likely to happen.
Taylen Green Over 219.5 passing yards (-117)
I was tempted to take Michael Van Buren’s yardage total here, given that I think the Mississippi State Bulldogs might upset the Arkansas Razorbacks, but I stuck with Taylen Green’s.
Mississippi State’s passing defense is awful, and I think this is a recipe for Green to sit back and work on his pocket passing while also potentially playing in a high-scoring game.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.